Preparation - before the meeting
- Define the goal - is it to make a decision, share information, produce new ideas?
- Design agenda - what steps need to happen to achieve the goal of the meeting, who should be responsible for each step and how long should each step last?
- Assign the meeting facilitator and optionally a notetaker and timekeeper
- Decide on who to invite - who are the key decision makers, required experts, and stakeholders?
- Share documents and ask to submit their documents beforehand - no need for anyone to provide an oral status update or read documents together, when these things can be done before the meeting
Structure - during the meeting
- Set up rules of the meeting - you may ask to put down their laptops and phones or specify how the decision will be made
- Provide conclusion of each step of the agenda
- Make the engagement a top priority - make all people speak, if necessary interrupt and involve people that are silent; ask questions such as “Are we missing something?”, “Is anyone thinking differently?”
- At the end repeat the key topics mentioned, key decisions, next steps, task assignments, and check if everything is clear
- Thank everyone for their involvement
Follow up - after the meeting
- Send an email with the conclusions, key decisions, next steps, and task assignments to all participants and people that should know the outcome of the meeting
- If you feel that someone is not happy with the meeting’s outcome, reach out to that person to discuss their worries